New superintendent introduces himself
LANCASTER — Lancaster School District Superintendent Paul Marietti looks forward to meeting more District employees, including teachers, as he settles into his new position.
The Lancaster School District Board of Education hired him in April to succeed former superintendent Michele Bowers, who retired in June. Marietti has attended Board meetings since April, when his appointment was announced.
“In just visiting the schools and meeting all of the individuals, we have amazing administrators,” he said, in a Monday interview, at the District office. “I haven’t really got to meet the teachers yet, I had some interactions but everyone seems committed and dedicated to the work that they’re doing here.”
He said, based on what he’s seen, everyone truly cares about teaching and childrens’ learning.
“I’m very excited to see where we can find areas to improve and obviously keep the great things going,” Marietti said.
He is working on an entry plan that includes listening and learning.
“I’ve been sitting down and having conversations with individuals, asking questions and trying to understand where everyone feels we are and then where everyone feels we need to go,” he said.
Once he has gathered that information, he hopes to create a threeyear strategic plan with specific goals, based on those conversations.
“Really trying to get a handle on where the needs are and then really try to develop a plan to take us from where we are now to where we want to be in three years,” he said.
He said the development of the three-year plan will include teachers, students, the community and District management.
“I’m not here to come in and try to put something on top of Lancaster,” he said. “We want to celebrate all of the great things that have been going on over the past several years here and there’s some great things that are going on. So we want to celebrate those things and continue the great work and find areas where we can improve.”
Marietti is new to the Antelope Valley but not Los Angeles County. He began his career as a special education and social studies teacher for 13 years with the Los Angeles Unified School District. He taught special education for the first two years. He also coached varsity baseball.
“I spent my time teaching and coaching in Los Angeles,” Marietti said.
He is married to his wife, Sonie, who is a middle school math teacher. They have two daughters: Toni, a senior majoring in environmental science at the University of California, Santa Barbara; and Frankie, a high school senior who will attend the University of California, San Diego in the fall.
Before their daughters started school, Marietti and his wife, who stayed at home for nine years, thought about their next course of action. He decided to become an administrator.
“I decided to become an administrator because I really wanted to be an administrator that I wish I had as a teacher,” Marietti said. “I didn’t really feel that the administrators that worked with me were very supportive, so I wanted to be someone who could support teachers.”
He became an assistant principal, then principal, at Santa Paula Union High School District in 2005, where he worked for six years.
“Being a high school principal is a whole heck of a lot of fun but it’s a whole heck of a lot of work,” Marietti said.
He made his way to the Ventura County Office of Education, where he served as director of student services from 2011 to 2015.
Marietti earned his doctorate in educational leadership from California Lutheran University while he was working at the Ventura County Office of Education. He has two master’s degrees: One from Azusa Pacific University, in educational leadership and one in history from California State University, Los Angeles.
He graduated from California State University Fullerton, in 1991, with a bachelor’s degree in history.
He eventually became the assistant superintendent of Human Resources for Pleasant Valley Elementary School District.
“Once you get a doctorate, if you’re going to do that work and spend that effort it’s because you want to be a superintendent,” Marietti said.
So he began looking to become a superintendent.
“The challenge with being a superintendent is there’s not a whole heck of a lot of jobs,” Marietti said. “There are only a finite amount of jobs, so you really have to go to where the jobs are.”
That led him to Fowler Unified School District, a small district with about 2,500 students and six schools in Fresno County.
Marietti was tasked with replacing four of the five district-level administration positions when he entered the superintendent’s position in Fowler, in 2019.
“I really benefited from the smaller district,” he said. “It was very hands-on and I got to do a lot of things. I got to learn how to be a superintendent, met a lot of great people, did a lot of good work.”
The job was three-and-a-half hours from home. Although he had a place in Fowler, Marietti wanted to find something closer to home to spend more time with his wife.
“I really was excited about the opportunity to come to Lancaster,” he said. “I get to come back to LA County, I get to be back with my family.”
Marietti will also call the Antelope Valley home, as they are in the process of moving here.
“The challenges that Lancaster faces are the challenges I love to address,” he said, adding he wants to be part of positive change.
He said he has seen all of the good programs started by his predecessor, Michele Bowers.
“I really feel that Lancaster is on the move,” Marietti said. “It has the components in place to really do great things for children and I want to be part of that.”